How much did you pay for gas?

While we are still in the midst of an economic and financial crisis in the United States, and most indicators suggest we are now in the middle of a recession, the price of a gallon of gas continues to fall. As recently as this past July, gas peaked at $4.17 per gallon, and 4 months later we are paying less than $2.00 per gallon. I last filled up for $1.97 last week, and there are stations in St. Louis offering gas for less than $1.89 per gallon! What are Americans doing with their gas savings? Driving more? Not likely. I think they are using their savings from gas to pay for other costs that haven't gone down, like groceries, education, and health care. Most people I talk to feel like it's only a matter of time before gas prices start to trend back up, and many people have changed their driving habits for good due to the previous lessons of $4 gas. There is speculation that President-elect Obama may even use the lower gas prices to add a higher gas tax, to help pay for road and highway repairs in the future. It would be easier to get it through when gas is below $2 per gallon that it would have been at $4. The real lesson that people are beginning to learn from this current financial crisis is that everyone must save more. The days of using your home as an ATM machine are over and the stock market should be used for long term investing, not short term speculation. Cash is king my friends, cash is king!